One of the world’s rarest books could have sold for £7million at auction – but its owner decided to cut it up and make wallpaper out of it instead.

Snip-happy Lady Isabella Hertford took out her scissors and destroyed the precious item – now thought to be the world’s most expensive book – when her mansion needed redecorating.

She cut out the birds and stuck them to her wall – gah (Picture: SWNS)

But before you go looking her up on Twitter to vent your outrage, Lady H did do this way back in 1827 – so we’re pretty sure she’s dead now and the value has risen somewhat since then.

Lady Hertford used 28 pictures from John James Audubon’s ‘The Birds of America’ to stick onto her Chinese-inspired wallpaper in the Chinese Drawing Room at Temple Newsam House in Leeds.

Lady Hertford just straight up destroyed the book (Picture: SWNS)

The paper had been given to her as a gift by her lover, the Prince of Wales – later King George IV – with whom she had a 12-year-long affair.

There are just 119 known copies of the book left in the world, and one of them sold for £7million at Sotheby’s in 2010.

BRB gonna cry (Picture: SWNS)

Temple Newsam House is about to reopen after a deep winter clean.

Curator Rachel Conroy described the drawing room as ‘extraordinary’, adding: ‘It’s made all the more special because it’s largely been decorated by a former resident of the house and most of the furniture which is still on display was chosen by Lady Hertford herself.’

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